Glenn's Light
by WhiteBuffalo
Summary: Glenn, a young boy, deals with expectations and the unexpected twists of fate that take his father away from him and change his life forever.
1. The Waters of Termina Beach

A/N: This is the time when Glenn is 13 years old and his older brother Dario is about 21.  
  
On a sun-filled day, the young boy Glenn sat and gazed out at the ocean from Termina beach. Such a sight soothed his senses during these times of spontaneous war. The water, a very light blue, contrasted with the earth-colored islands far out in the distance. Sandstone surrounded this small beach, almost like a corridor leading one to the water. The small shrubberies and weeds clung to the stone, adding only more color to this place: the place Glenn loved. He could hear in his mind the lullaby that his mother would sing to him as a child. She had died when he was still a young child, leaving him to live in a house run by a masculine leadership under his father Garai and his older brother Dario. Glenn had his mother's eyes.  
  
The three of them had lived in Termina their entire lives. No one seemed to leave or enter the El Nido archipelago except through death and birth. The city was generally peaceful, unlike its counterparts to the East near Mount Pyre. Festivals came through the city and the flowers bloomed in a rainbow of colors throughout the seasons.  
  
But Glenn felt alone.  
  
Garai, his father, had entrusted his two children with everything he had. Yet Dario had been the obvious favorite of their legendary father. He grew strong earlier than Glenn, became smarter and more of a soldier faster than his brother, and most importantly had found love at an earlier time. The young Miss Riddel of Colonel Viper's family seemed almost destined to meet with Dario as such. And although much opposition was later made to the bond by Dario's friend, Karsh, it could not be stopped.  
  
Glenn was always the little brother. He was sent off to pick flowers, to buy Viper Churros for the next soldier's trip, and could never get the respect he wanted from his father. He looked up to his brother, however, who always treated him with the same esteem as he had treated his fellow knights. After all, Dario wished it that Glenn would assume the family role and become a great knight, and take over after his and his father's lives ended.  
  
But for now, the calm water flowing in and out was all Glenn needed. He picked up a handful of sand and looked at the fine grains that it was composed of. He then spread his fingers apart and let the sand flow off from his palm, landing back on the beach.  
  
"Glenn! I've been looking all over for you!" Glenn turned to hear whose voice had just called him. He had hoped for his brother, or possibly his father, but was surprised to see the silver-haired Karsh walking towards him. "Your brother's been in a fight with your father hasn't he?" He said, sitting down next to Glenn.  
  
Glenn nodded solemnly. The ocean waves ebbed at the shore, echoing through Glenn's mind mixed with his mother's lullaby. Karsh sat with his knees bent and with his arms resting on them, resembling a very informal stance. He looked down for a moment at the sand, and back up at Glenn.  
  
"Life must be tough for you, kiddo," Karsh said. "I would hate to have to follow after such 'legendary' people." Glenn nodded again. "What could it be this time that they could fight about?" Glenn remained silent.  
  
Glenn looked down at his boots, the ones that his brother gave to him a few months prior. "Me," Glenn said quietly. "My father does not have enough faith in me anymore. Dario tries to defend me, but I know he cannot." He picked up a stone and threw it into the water. He turned to Karsh, exposing the redness in his face. "I had to leave. At the least for today. My father keeps his goals set for acquiring the Masamune, and until he does that, I am not important in his life. I am only a failure then, and never a blessing to him."  
  
Karsh extended his legs and kicked a little pile of sand down. "You know..." he began. "There might not be a way to fix it. But with life as it is these days... I'm surprised you haven't been enlisted yet."  
  
"I couldn't make the cut and you know it." Glenn said, turning his head down again.  
  
"You've got a lot of your mother in you, Glenn," Karsh said, followed by a long pause. "You know, I was only ten when she passed away. Truly a great person, I must say. But her mind was always on someone else."  
  
"Someone else?" Glenn looked up.  
  
"She always cared what people thought... She always wanted people to talk to her while she cooked for her family, because she never wanted people to be without someone with whom to talk. But she kept all of it inside," Karsh paused again. His dramatic form of speech always caught Glenn's attention. "She loved you so much. I could tell."  
  
The sun was setting slowly in the West, the direction Termina Beach faced. The blue sky soon turned to faint yellows, reds and purples, as the water slowly darkened to glow under the light of the two moons.  
  
"Sir Karsh..." Glenn said softly. "Do you think my father loves me?"  
  
"...of course, Glenn," Karsh said, patting his young friend on the back. "He sees the potential in you. It's even greater than your brother's strength and wisdom. I can guarantee you'll land a journey someday that will change your life. You may even save the world," Karsh added, chuckling to himself. "He just wants you to be more than you are right now... And there's no way to really change that."  
  
After a few moments passed, Glenn began to hum the melody to himself. Karsh listened patiently, recognizing the tune but refraining from speaking.  
  
"Come on," Karsh said, getting up on his feet and dusting himself off. "It's getting dark and I didn't bring my axe with me. Let's go back, all right?" Glenn nodded and stood up as well. "And stop calling me, 'sir.' We're friends, Glenn." Glenn was never afraid around Karsh, whom had protected him while his brother and father were away, but he would always speak formally even to a friend like him. Together they walked back to Termina city. 


	2. A Legendary and Cursed Journey

"Glenn... Glenn! Good morning, Glenn!"  
  
The ashen-brown haired boy slowly opened his eyes and rolled over onto his side. Standing next to the bed was his older brother Dario, all suited up in his white and gold armor. Though the family was well off, the lived only as affluent as they needed. The house was made from the same blue stone as most of the houses in Termina, and on the inside, there were only a few rooms. Glenn's room had been decorated with artifacts that his family brought back from travels, nearly covering any previously open surface. The nightstand next to Glenn's subtle bed was enshrined with a picture of his mother on it, and the rug on the floor was one that his mother quilted herself. Glenn looked up at Dario, who was standing on the blue bricked floor. His face showed affection for his brother, but something was amiss.  
  
"Father leaves today, Glenn," Dario said, trying to get Glenn up from his bed. "You do at least want to say goodbye to him? You never know if he may not come back. It is the way of an Acacia Dragoon."  
  
Glenn groaned and slowly got out of bed. Dario had begun to walk towards the door, his cape flowing down until it nearly slid across the floor. "And remember," Dario said, with his head turned back to Glenn. "Look like a knight, okay?"  
  
Glenn sighed a deep sigh of resignation. To see his father go brought him too many feelings to express so early in the morning. He grabbed his bright brown and green armor that was passed down from Garai's father. Looking at it, Glenn thought to himself of how the armor was only passed down to him because Dario's armor was given to him by the Dragoon Devas at his inauguration as the head. Reluctantly, Glenn put on the suit, and walked outside.  
  
He was surprised when there were no balloons flying, no crowds of people, and no celebrations of any kind for his father, the hero. It was only a time when Garai was leaving on a quest, and the returns were more jovial meetings than the departures. He walked down the 4 stone steps, each with a name of the members of his family.  
  
Garai, his father, a bright white stone step leading into the house  
  
Farrah, his mother, a shimmering block of stone decorated in flowers  
  
Dario, his brother, a grand white marble  
  
Glenn, the white brick at the bottom of the stairs.  
  
As Glenn set his foot on the brick path, he felt a sudden premonition come over him. This ominous feeling left Glenn feeling slightly dizzy and nauseous. He stumbled forward, as quick flashes of images filled his mind, upsetting him as he tried to maintain his balance. The images were of his father dying...  
  
Glenn, seeing these horrendous depictions of his father's death, thought to himself, "What is this? That sword... the Masamune... the sword that hosts evil and drives its wielder insane...! Father..." As soon as the flashes ceased, Glenn looked up to see Dario a few steps in front of him, looking very condescending and impatient.  
  
"Glenn," Dario said with his short-tempered voice. "Our father is leaving. This is no time to pretend to be ill. This is not just about you! It never is!"  
  
"Yes, sir," Glenn replied hesitantly, and regained his pacing. Turning around the corner, Glenn saw the city of Termina as empty as he had ever seen it. The sky-colored buildings had all looked deserted, and the banners that proclaimed the city's name were hardly affected by the wind. Even the flower shopkeeper was not at his post. The flowers sitting on display were withering, dropping petals on the ground silently. Glenn walked up to the flowers and reached out his hand. A beautiful white flower petal fell gently into his right hand, and he closed his fist around it. He glanced around, and finally found his father coming down the blue stone steps in the middle of Termina.  
  
His father stood talking with Dario, and after one embrace, Garai began to walk down the steps as Dario returned home.  
  
Glenn immediately ran to Garai. "Father, do not go," Glenn pleaded, "I foresee that it will be too dangerous. Please."  
  
Garai merely laughed. "My young Glenn," Garai said proudly. "Nothing is too dangerous for the mighty Garai. Besides, I would risk my life to find that Masamune."  
  
Glenn drew his sword and showed his father the family crest engraved on the blade. "Does this not mean anything to you? For what importance does the Masamune serve when our swords themselves are legendary? Does not the Einlanzer bring supremacy to our name?"  
  
Garai looked sternly at his son, realizing that he was actually serious about the matter. "Glenn," He said, putting his large hand on his son's shoulder. "You know that our family means the most to me. Yet the Masamune is a sword older than time. I do this not for myself but for the good of the world." Garai gave Glenn a warm smile and began to walk out of the city.  
  
"Father!" Glenn shouted. "I saw you die! You fall by your own hand, the hand that wields that cursed sword!"  
  
Garai turned around and hastily approached his son. "Never speak ill of your father, do you hear me? This is my decision and you shall do nothing about it! What would you care anyway about me, your own father? Get out of my sight, scoundrel!" Garai turned and with the swing of his cape, walked down the steps and out of the city.  
  
With nothing but silence around him, Glenn fell to his knees. A tear slowly streamed down his face and landed on the ground before him, as the sound of the impact of the drop echoed louder than anything Glenn had heard. He loosened his fists and opened his hands.  
  
A black flower petal fell to the ground. 


	3. Doubt and Disarray

Glenn never heard from his father again.  
  
Tales, rumors and falsehoods spread around the city like the waves lapping at the shore. Already, two weeks had passed, and no one had heard a single truth about Garai's journey for the Masamune. Was it possible that the sword did not exist? Did he fail his mission? Or does the sword exist, and something worse happen?  
  
Glenn's thoughts trailed everywhere, but his eyes focused on the same deep blue water. The crest of the waves was a glimmering white, and shined just like the blade of the Einlanzer. But that sword was now lost to him. Even if Garai ever returned home, there was no chance to salvage his relationship with his father. Glenn had longed to hold the sword, and had been caught by his older brother a number of times late at night practicing with it.  
  
"What am I thinking," Glenn said to himself. "A piece of metal should not bring about such greed. Not the Einlanzer." He picked up a pile of sand, and let the grains fall through his fingers. This time the sand moved slower, as if time were punishing Glenn for letting the rest of the world move as fast as it had.  
  
Behind him, he heard footsteps muffled by the sand grow louder. "Not one day can I be alone..." He thought, his head lowered.  
  
"Glenn, you and I need to talk," He heard the voice say. Glenn did not turn around. "Your father loves you but he cannot seem to let you go. He knows my destiny as a knight. I am to die in the battlefield with my fellow soldiers. He does not want to lose his entire family."  
  
"Then maybe you might tell me where he is, Dario?" Glenn replied, glancing down to the side as if to acknowledge Dario's presence.  
  
"He is still on his journey for the mythical sword."  
  
"It's been TWO WEEKS, Dario! He is not coming back and you know that!" Glenn said, clenching his fist tightly. "You are just as stubborn as he is!"  
  
Dario approached Glenn clamly, squatted down to his level, and wrapped his hand around his young brother's arm. "You do not understand of what you speak."  
  
"Don't I, though?" Glenn said, with a tear in his eye. "My father is dead after no resolve. My brother denies my existence as if it were of no value to him!"  
  
Dario lowered his head in disbelief. "This grief," He softly spoke, "It is not like the behavior of a real knight." A long pause followed. The water continued to move back and forth on the shoreline, leaving a trail of wet sand every time the water receded.  
  
"Maybe I do not wish to be a knight, brother."  
  
"Now you're being irrational," Dario said, shaking his head. "Our father is not dead yet. He is a strong man, and we are a strong family. And even without him..." He paused and looked at Glenn who refused to return the glance. "We have each other, Glenn. We will always have each other. We will be the legendary heroes we were meant to be: Dario and Glenn! Our names will be famous."  
  
"For now, I suppose... For now, I do not want to call attention to myself."  
  
"Then pay your attention to me, brother. Think of this over the eve. The lord Viper addressed me tonight to stay at the Manor, so I must go." Dario patted the boy on the back affectionately and stood up. His cape moved with the wind, swaying and fluttering as he walked away. By the time Glenn could no longer hear his brother's footsteps, a pure silence returned.  
  
Not long after Dario left did Glenn begin to hear the lullaby again. 


	4. The Choices We Make

As the sun went down, and the clouds moved in and began a fierce rain, Karsh heard knocking on the door. At this time of night it was very odd to hear knocking, unless it was bad news. He walked hesitantly to the door, and put his hand on the handle. He turned it, hearing the creak of the old wooden door.  
  
"...Glenn!" Karsh said, surprised. Glenn's hair was matted down completely, as he was drenched in the rain.  
  
Standing from under the awning in front of the house, Glenn spoke loudly to overcome the rain. "May I stay with you the night?" Karsh nodded with a smile, and let Glenn in, closing the door behind him. "Where are your parents, Karsh?"  
  
Karsh led Glenn into the kitchen and let out a chair for him. It was a large room, relative to the other rooms of the house. The kitchen table, which sat near the corner of the room, was square, made from a dark wood. Underneath the table was an ordinate rug, with designs of dragons and swords. Next to the door they came through, there was a long counter that went along the two walls opposite the table. Cupboards lay in disarray as if no one had attempted to clean them, and the sink was full of dishes that appeared used. "Zappa's obsessing over finding that 'Master Hammer' and Zippa's with him. I heard they went all the way to Marbule for it." He paused for a moment. "What brings you here, Glenn?"  
  
"Dario is staying the night with Ri---" Glenn began to say, but held himself back, realizing how Karsh would react. Karsh's love for Riddel only turned into jealousy of Dario. "He's away... Colonel Viper wanted to speak to him tonight, so Dario left for the manor." Karsh stood by the sink, pouring something into two glasses. He brought them to the table, and sat down around the corner of the table from Glenn, who was drying himself off with a towel. Karsh nodded to him as if to tell him to drink the concoction. Glenn lifted his glass and sipped from it.  
  
"This is incredible!" Glenn said with his eyes widened. "It almost tastes salty. What is it?"  
  
Karsh let out a hearty chuckle. "It's a family drink. Used with our own purified salt water direct from Termina Beach. It's made with a fruit that I'm afraid will be hard to find in a few years. It came from the Hydra Marshes to the South. Did you know they weren't always poisonous?"  
  
Glenn looked up. "You know so much, sir Karsh. But you are as young as my brother are you not?"  
  
Karsh laughed again to himself. "You make me feel old, Glenn. I have been an Acacia Dragoon for a long time now, and I have been all over this archipelago, believe you me. Sometimes, though, I wonder. Ya know? What would life have been like had I chosen something else to do? I wouldn't be so in love as I am, I wouldn't know you or your brother, and I wouldn't... Gosh, I don't know what I'd be." He looked down at the table, raised up his glass and took a large swig of the drink. "Life presents itself as choices, Glenn. One after another, like waves coming in. The choices we make... they can even mean drastic changes. Had I not gone out to the shop three days ago, my parents might not have left! Strange, but ya never know. Some things change others you might not think about."  
  
Glenn looked at Karsh. His hair, still dripping wet, covered the better portion of his eyes. "I know what you're trying to say. Come out and say it, Karsh."  
  
Karsh let out a deep sigh, as he portrayed a serious look. "I suppose by now you've heard the rumors." Glenn nodded. Karsh took another drink, and set down his empty glass on the table. "I don't think anything could kill your father, Glenn. His spirit is just too strong."  
  
"I feel that is the problem," Glenn said, right before he took his last sips of his drink. "They say the Masamune is cursed, Karsh."  
  
Karsh took the two glasses to the sink and began to wash them out. "That's what I've heard as well. But no sword, man's or god's, would strike down Garai. But you're right, I feel the premonition, and I worry."  
  
Karsh turned to see Glenn, who was now sleeping with his head resting on his arm at the table. Karsh picked him up and brought him into the spare room to let him sleep. "This is too tough," Karsh said to himself. "Why did it have to fall on him?" Karsh let Glenn sleep, and after he cleaned up the kitchen, retired to his room as well.  
  
The night seemed particularly long to Karsh. 


	5. The Light

One week later, Glenn was again sitting on Termina beach, meditating to himself. The sun was very bright, but the cool breeze that came from the waves created a very pleasant atmosphere for Glenn. He sat with his legs crossed and eyes closed, seeing his mother from what he could remember. He could remember more and more from the lullaby as days passed, keeping it entirely secret so as not to share his mother with anyone else.  
  
He heard footsteps approaching. He could tell there was only one person coming, and he figured it was his brother, by the sound of his boots. Glenn, still with his eyes closed, spoke to him. "What are you up to today brother?"  
  
Silence.  
  
Glenn opened his eyes, as Dario stood beside him, holding a sword. Dario drove the sword into the ground, turned around, and began to walk away. Glenn looked bewildered at the sword, since it had shined so brightly in the sun. He stood up slowly, and grabbed the white hilt of the great sword. He picked it up out of the ground and held it up. Seeing the crest on the blade, Glenn dropped the sword. The Einlanzer fell to the ground, pushing out sand from where it landed.  
  
Glenn turned around. Dario stood there, as if crying without expressing the emotion of his overwhelming grief. Glenn ran up to him and embraced him as tears rolled down his cheek.  
  
"You may do what you like with the sword," Dario said quietly. "Our father is buried on the Isle of Sacred Remains." Glenn squeezed his brother tighter as Dario patted him on the back.  
  
-----  
  
Glenn ran into the city and farther down to the docks. The docks were a part of the town, where boatmen would come in and out with merchandise. Some would even give rides to places around the archipelago to those who had the money. Three long wooden docks sat with only one boat in that day. Glenn ran to the dock, and giving a boatman a handful of coins, Glenn took the boat and rowed out of the area, through the unusually calm waters. Glenn trekked out of Termina and around the northern part of the island, going eastward to the dark island known as the Isle of Sacred Remains.  
  
After landing on the beach and tying the boat to a nearby branch, Glenn ran past the skulls and bones of animals that had once lived on the island. Treading over the black and purple stones, Glenn found himself running all the way down the twisted bramble paths to a mirror. He held up his father's keepsake that he had since he was a child, and the mirror faded into a window, and then into nothing. Glenn looked up the path, and began walking.  
  
This was the cape where Garai was buried. A headstone lay at the end of the path, which was the top of a cliff before the water surrounding the isle. Like a spike that came off the island, this land was reserved only for the greatest of the fallen. Glenn walked up to the headstone, and without looking at it, drove the Einlanzer into the ground before it. Glenn suddenly felt as if he had finally bridged the gap between him and his father.  
  
"This is the sword of my father!" Glenn shouted to no one. "This is the sword that resembles the power and courage of one man, and one family! My father's hopes and dreams, and now it is our time! We will find your sword father. We will find the Masamune! And only then will we take the holy Einlanzer to be our own!"  
  
As Glenn returned home, he could hear the echo of his father's words from long ago.  
  
"Glenn, inside of each of us there is a light. This light will always lead the righteous people down the correct path. You will still have your choices, my son, but you must choose to do what you know is right in your mind and in your heart. Take your light, and make something of it. You will make me proud someday. Even if that means walking away from something you had always dreamed of."  
  
Indeed, Glenn walked away from the sword that day, knowing full well his course. He was to become a knight, at the wish of his father. And the choices Glenn made? Let's just say that this is the world he'd have rather lived in. 


End file.
